Discussing Paranormal Romance with Shiela Stewart

I met paranormal romance author Shiela Stewart after posting the interview with Pamela K. Kinney. We got to chatting and the idea of both an interview and a guest blog spot came up. I was delighted when she agreed to both!

Today I’m pleased to post her interview. In the near future she’ll also be posting a guest blog. (Or perhaps I will. I’m still learning WordPress so if I can’t figure out how to set her up with author privileges I may be posting on her behalf.)

At any rate, without further ado here’s her answers to my questions.

Courtney Mroch: For those who aren’t familiar with your writing, can you start off by giving a little background about yourself and your books?

Shiela Stewart: Hi Courtney and thank you for having me today.  I am a multi-published paranormal romance author that likes to dabble in suspense and contemporary romance. I’ve written and published 14 novels with 13 currently being re-released with Breathless Press. My first novel, Kidnapped, was published in 2007 and I haven’t stopped since. I love to write, I love to tell tales and I love to hook the readers.

I have written two series romance, The Darkness Series, a tale of good and evil vampires fighting for control over the city of Jacob’s Cove.  And the Passion series, three separate tales intertwining in the town of Passion. Secrets of the Dead is a standalone about a man who can communicate with the dead. And finally, Until Death Do Us Part, a story of woman who loses her husband only to have him walk back into her life two years later, his killer on his trail.

Book available at Breathless Press  and Absolute XPress.

CM: The books I think might interest HJ readers most are your Secrets of the Dead and Sex Therapy: Spiritual Style. Can you tell us a little about each of them?

 SS: As I mentioned, Secrets of the Dead is a tale of a man who can communicate with the dead. C.J. Dowling was born with the ability and has always faced criticism and ridicule for his gift. But despite all the naysayers and non-believers, he continues his mission to do what it takes to help both the living and the dead with their problems.

Blurb: Jessica Coltrane is a die-hard skeptic who believes that ghosts and paranormal activity are nothing more than a figment of some poor fool’s over active imagination—until she finds herself locked inside a house with the enigmatic paranormal investigator C.J. Dowling, that is.

C.J., born with the ability to see and speak to the dead, thought this would be a job like many others. Calm and self-assured, he knows his business. After all, he’s been listening to the Secrets of the Dead since he was three. He’s prepared for anything—except the smart and sexy Jessica.

Working together in close quarters, C.J. and Jessica find it’s all too easy to get under one another’s skin during the day. As darkness falls and the tension between them mounts, a spark is ignited. Fueled by passion they give into their desires…only C.J. and Jessica aren’t alone.

As the light dawns the couple discovers they’re trapped. Trapped with the ghost of a child long forgotten, an amorous entity that is threatening Jessica, and a powder keg of a spine-tingling mystery that might just be better left buried.

Secrets of the Dead will be released later this year with Breathless Press.

Read an excerpt: http://www.shielasbooks.ca/Secrets%20of%20the%20Dead.htm

Sex Therapy: Spiritual Style is a short story about a married couple who have lost the pizazz in their relationship until the spirit of the dead decide to help out.

Blurb: Therapy was never so sexy…or so dangerous.

Paranormal Investigators, Gina and James Anderson have lost the pizazz in their marriage. Despite being near the verge of separating they take a job investigating a haunted house. Little do they know the spirit within has ulterior motives. 

Sex is the name of the game and the spirits are determined to win.

I also have another ghost story available the readers might be interested in.

Read an Excerpt: http://www.shielasbooks.ca/Sex%20Therepy.htm

Discovery in Passion: Bk 1 in the Passion series:

Discovery in Passion is a story of a woman who moves to small town Passion to start a new life and finds herself living in a haunted house where the spirits want revenge.

Blurb: Nothing is ordinary in the small town of Passion, especially the love.

Wanting to start fresh, Cassie Evans relocates to the small town of Passion where she moves into the home of her dreams, complete with dreamy next door neighbor, artist, and handyman Thomas Healy. The only problem is, the house she bought just might be haunted.

Thomas Healy lives a life of solitude and that suits him just fine. Then Cassie Evans moves in next door and begins to turn his peaceful live upside down. He tries to ignore her, but ignoring a woman as beautiful as Cassie isn’t so easy, especially when she shows up at your door, naked, begging for you to paint her. Thomas’ first mistake was to agree to it, his second was to take Cassie to bed, now she’s all he can think about.

When their blossoming love is overshadowed by a ghostly haunting, the curious Cassie launches an investigation into the life and death of her home’s previous owner, uncovering a mystery and attracting the attention of a killer. Where will Cassie’s discovery lead her, to the love of her life or to death itself?

Welcome to the town of Passion.

Read an Excerpt: http://www.shielasbooks.ca/ThePassionSeries.htm

CM: I couldn’t help but think of a blog I wrote about ghosts and sex when reading about your Sex Therapy: Spiritual Style. Sounds good! (And was a good example of a point I was trying to make!)

What do you think it is about ghosts that intrigue you and inspires you to include them in your storylines?

SS: I lived in a haunted house as a child and it’s stuck with me all my life. I am a complete believer in spirits among us. I’ve always been intrigued by ghost stories, of haunted houses and what would keep a spirit to this life rather than move on to the peace they deserve. The ghost and the house in my novel Discovery in Passion are mirrored after the haunted home I lived in as a child.

It intrigues me to think it may not be the end when we die, that we might be able to come back and finish something that we couldn’t before we died. Plus, I just can’t get enough of those demonic spirits that scare the living daylights out of us. I think growing up in  a haunted house has definitely fueled my spooky nature. I love to be scared and I love to scare others. What is better than that adrenaline rush you feel when you’re terrified. The feel of your heart pounding, her pulse soaring and your body sweating as you convince yourself you’re not scared.

CM: Where do you like to Haunt Jaunt to? Any favorite Spooky Stays, Eerie Eateries & Pubs, Historic Haunts, or Apparition Attractions you like to frequent in your area? Or when you go on vacation?

SS: I love going to old houses, rundown barns and vacant restaurants to see if I can pick up any vibes of the dead. I also love imagining what might have happened in an abandoned or rundown home. I’ve always had a vivid imagination. 

I would like to take a tour someday of all the famous haunted places across the world, but that’s a dream I’m afraid that may never come true.  My favorite spots that I would love to go to would be castles. There is so much history in those old brick homes, so many deaths and so much anger. I think it would be fascinating to walk the halls where so many others once wandered, to view the places they lost their lives.

CM: Oooh! I love castles too, and like your idea of an around-the-world Haunt Jaunting trip. Along those lines, here’s my final question: what would your dream Haunt Jaunt be?

SS:The Tower of London. I would love to stay there for even one night, to be in the place where so many souls linger, where so many lives were taken including Ann Bolelyn.

CM: Good pick! Shiela, it’s been a real pleasure. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.